Pros
No layoffs, free soda, nice buildings. Scratch the no layoffs.
Cons
Looking back on my career, it is without hesitation that I remember Meditech as the most enjoyable job of my life. Whereas every review of Meditech starts off with a complaint about low pay, I came to Meditech 2 years removed from graduate school and, at the time, pretty much highest level salary for a computer science major with a masters degree. That was followed by the maximum raise my first year and then increasing bonus payouts which were used to buy stock, which, in turn, paid dividends as well as growth in value. Added to that was the retirement plan which did well while Meditech was doing well. The second complaint from every reviewer is a knock on Meditech technology. It should be mentioned that fundamental Meditech technology, which is MUMPS, powers the entire healthcare IT industry and is also used by current highfliers like Epic. My personal observation is that Magic, with its built-in database system, coupled with the old NPR development environment, is still hands down the most productive development tool I have ever seen. I remember I was so impressed with Meditech and how thoughtfully it managed its business that I had a maxim that if I did not agree with some quirky way that Meditech did things, I should think more about it until I understood that they were right. One day, after the Christmas lunch, as I was tidying up some work on one of Canton's vacant terminals, Neil Pappalardo strolled by and stopped to chat. Perhaps he was mildly curious by someone working while the rest of the company had already cleared out. I told him how much I liked Magic and how elegant I thought it was. I then asked him something that had been a puzzle to me in my first year, "If Meditech is doing so well, why not try to hire more bright people. Why is the level of candidates entering, at least the development division, so mediocre?" To which Neil replied that anyone can do well with superstars but ability to do well with average people is key. I shrugged and did not argue with him. Five more years passed. At that point the company went through a major reorganization and the development division lost its home in Cambridge and got swallowed by the even more average sea of various divisions in the rest of the company. I did not want to leave but forced myself to leave. I should have remembered my maxim that if you think Meditech is doing something wrong, think more and see the error of your ways. I am now grateful for the misery that pushed me out. As I look at the current state of Meditech, the love for "average" has born its full fruits. But as far as memories, Meditech is like that high school romance -- the sweetest love of one's life and the eternal relief that you never got married.
